Method of Hanging Shower Mats

ABSTRACT

A method for hanging a shower mat securely and free flowing in its unrolled position, utilizing hanging hooks, and holes in the bathmat that are placed over those hooks. A preferred embodiment comprises a bathmat having a top surface and a bottom surface with high friction gripping material or suction cup, side edges, a top edge, with at least two holes spaced a distance apart so that the weight of the bathmat is evenly distributed across the two hooks. The shower mat may have antibacterial and mildew resistant properties, which may be included in the material used to manufacture the shower mat.

This application claims the benefit of provisional application No.62/899,327, filed 12 Sep. 2019.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to bath tub and shower mats and hasparticular reference to an elastomeric bath mat having associatedtherewith novel means whereby the same may be supported when not in usein a flat unfolded condition on the inner surface of the inside oroutside side wall of a bath tub where it may be dried by a drip action.

BACKGROUND

Bathtubs and shower stalls are frequently provided with rubber orplastic safety mats to prevent the bather from slipping therein and toavoid any possible resultant injuries. After use, the mats are usuallyleft in a wet condition on the bottom of the tub or the floor of theshower stall with the result that the mat may soon develop bacteria,mold and/or mildew or deteriorate in a way that causes an unsightlyappearance.

Various proposals have been made to suspend shower mats, for purposes ofdrying the mats when not in use. In one arrangement, a frameworkincluding suitable linkage is secured to the wall of the bathtub, andthe mat is pivotally connected to the linkage, whereby the linkage andassociated mat are swung to an inoperative position when not in use. Inanother arrangement, the mat is provided with a plurality of suctioncups and/or magnets, whereby the mat is adapted to tightly grip the wallof the tub.

While these arrangements have been satisfactory for their intendedpurposes, they have been subject to certain disadvantages, such as, thecost to manufacture, their bulkiness in design, and in the case wherethe mat is gripped on the side wall of the tub, the mat will not dry asefficiently as it would if freely suspended; thus, there is a tendencyfor the mat to deteriorate while on the side of the tub.

Three prior patents seem to most relevant to the present invention. U.S.Pat. No. 3,408,663 comprises, essentially, a mat having hanger meansintegrally connected to one end of the mat whereby the mat may be freelysuspended from a towel rack, or other suitable support, positioned inproximity to the tub or shower. The hanger means comprises a pair ofkey-hole slots provided adjacent one end of the mat and a pair of strapsformed integrally with the mat and extending from the end of the mat inalignment with the key-hole slots, a head or button member beingprovided on the end of each strap, whereby the mat, when not in use, maybe hung to dry on a towel rack by wrapping the straps around the rackand inserting the button members into the slots.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,044 comprises An improved portable shower and bathmat including a non-absorbent mat having a non-slip bottom surface andhaving a channeled bottom surface and a plurality of drain holes throughsaid pad to permit water to drain through said pad to the channels inthe bottom surface of said pad and into the shower or bath drain.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,562 comprises an elastomeric bath mat havingassociated therewith novel means whereby the same may be supported whennot in use in a flat unfolded condition on the inner surface of theoutside side wall of a bath tub where it Will be substantially concealedfrom view and where it may automatically be dried by a drip action.

A patent application US20140138508 is also relevant, though it dealswith an exercise mat. It comprises a baseboard or mounting portionconnected to a clip or securing portion, which together gently butfirmly exert compression across the width of an exercise mat. Thesecuring portion (“clip”) may consist of one or more clips, clamps orcams positioned along the width of the mat.

All of these patents or applications are designed to hang over a showerdoor, towel rack or other object already in the shower area. This methodinvention instead uses hooks or similar devices that are installed inthe shower area, with holes in the shower mat situated to go over thehooks. The advantage of this approach is to offer more air flow aroundthe shower mat to create better drying of the shower mat, to preventmildew, and mold buildup between uses of the shower mat. This methodalso utilizes antibacterial and mildew resistant properties, which maybe included in the material used to manufacture the shower mat.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide an improved shower mat hangingcombination for freely suspending the mat from a set of hooks or similardevice to facilitate the drying of the mat when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shower matdrying system that leaves the shower mat freely suspended, versus beingdoubled up over a towel rack while drying. Another object of the presentinvention for the shower mat is to have antibacterial and mildewresistant properties, which may be included in the material used tomanufacture the shower mat.

With these and other objects in view, which may be incident to theimprovements of this invention, the invention consists in the parts andcombinations to be hereinafter set forth and claimed, with theunderstanding that the several necessary elements, comprising theinvention, may be varied in construction, proportions and arrangement,without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

In order to make the invention more clearly under stood, I have shown inthe accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practicaleffect, without limiting the improvements in their useful applicationsto the particular constructions which, for the purpose of explanation,have been made the subject of illustration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-described problems are relieved by the present inventionproviding hooks for hanging a shower mat securely and free flowing inits unrolled position, utilizing hanging hooks, and holes in the bathmatthat are placed over those hooks. A preferred embodiment comprises abathmat having a top surface and a bottom surface with high frictiongripping material or suction cup, side edges, a top edge, with at leasttwo holes spaced a distance apart so that the weight of the bathmat isevenly distributed across the two hooks. In order not to damage thebathmats the holes may be reinforced. The shower mat may haveantibacterial and mildew resistant properties, which may be included inthe material used to manufacture the shower mat.

The hooks or similar holding devices offer various hanging solutionsenable hanging the holder and mat from a shower wall, bathroom wall ordoor, or other structure, with a hook base length sufficient to space amat from a wall to allow free flowing air on all sides of the showermat. When hung over a door or affixed to a wall, the hanging solutionenables spacing the mat from the door or wall to permit air to flowalong, and dry, both sides. The mat dries in its normal deployed shapeand avoids being curled or cracked.

PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION

-   L1 thickness measurement of shower mat-   L2 length of the main body of the shower mat-   L3 width of the main body of the shower mat-   D1 distance the holes 26 are space from each other-   D2 distance the holes 26 are spaced from the side edges of the main    body of the shower mat-   D3 distance the holes 26 are from the top edge of the main body of    the shower mat-   10. shower mat-   20. shower mat main body-   22. top surface of shower mat-   24. bottom surface of shower mat-   25. perimeter of shower mat-   25 a. side edges of shower mat-   25 b. top edge of shower mat-   26. holes within the shower mat for placement over the hooks-   28. suction cups-   30. hook-   32. hook hinge-   34. hook base-   35. pin that the hook rotates around-   36. hook hinge-   37. L shaped cavity to facilitate movement-   39. suction cup on hook base-   41. base of second hook component-   43. overlay section to go over towel rank or top of shower drawer-   45. second hook

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shower mat with holes hanging fromhooks according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectioned view taken along lines L2 in FIG. 1 and shownthickness L1 of the shower mat.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing lines L2 and L3, and distances D1, D2and D3.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hook.

FIG. 5 is a view of the shower hook base with hinge with the hook.

FIG. 6 is a view of the shower hook base with hinge with the hook.

FIG. 7 is a view of the second hook, which has on one end an overlaysection to go over a towel rack and a hook on the other end.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-described drawing figures illustrate components of thepreferred embodiment of this method invention, a shower mat 10 that thatincludes holes 26 for hanging the shower mat 10, and a hook 30 that isattached to a surface so that the holes in the mat will fit over thehook.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the shower mat 10 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the shower mat10 has a main body 20 having a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24that extend outwardly to a perimeter 25. The bottom surface 24 may be ahigh friction gripping material or suction cups. The perimeter 25includes side edges 25 a and a top edge 25 b. The main body 20 isgenerally shaped to fit in and substantially cover a shower or tube(rectangular, oval etc.) and includes at least two holes 26 being spaceda distance from the perimeter 25 described in greater detail below. Theholes 26 are also spaced a distance apart so that the width of theshower mat 10 may be evenly distributed on the hooks 30 while hanging.The hooks 30 may be included with the shower mat 10 or separately andare described in greater detail below. The holes 26 may be reinforcedwith extra material or an insert with hole attachment.

FIG. 2. is a sectional view of the shower mat 10 taken along lines L2 inFIG. 1. In this embodiment, the bottom surface includes suction cups 28,but in other embodiments the bottom surface 24 may be in the form of anyhigh-friction/non-slip material or structures such as silicone,soft-foam, rubber etc. The suction cups 28 may be the form of cups orsuction channels, or the shower mat 10 may be lined with material tosuction the entire shower mat 10 in place.

As shown in FIG. 2 the main body 20 having the top surface 22 and bottomsurface 24 further has a thickness 1.1. In some embodiments 1.1 may bebetween 1 and 3 mm, in this example, the thickness 1.1 is approximately2.1 mm (not including the suction cups 28).

An object of the present invention for the shower mat 10 is to haveantibacterial and mildew resistant properties, which may be included inthe material used to manufacture the shower mat 10.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the shower mat 10, showing the placement ofthe holes 26 relative to the main body 20. As FIG. 3 illustrates, a line1.2 measures the length of the main body 20, and a line 1.3 measures thewidth of the main body 20. In some embodiments, 1.2 may be between 27-32inches, and 1.3 may between 12 and 17 inches, In this example, 1.2 isapproximately 30 inches, and 1.3 is approximately 15 inches. However inother examples, 1.2 and 1.3 may vary within an appropriate range. Forthe purpose of this application, “approximately” is hereby defined tomean+/−10% of the given measurement.

FIG. 3 further shows the holes 26 each laterally spaced a distance D1From each other, a distance D2 from the side edges 25 a and spaced adistance D3 from the top edge 25 b. In some embodiments D1 isapproximately 11.5 inches, D2 is approximately 2 inches, and D3 isapproximates 1.3 inches. In other embodiments these distances may begreater or less that the provided examples, as long as holes 26 arelocated in the upper 10% of the mat 10.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the hook 30, whichalign with the shower mat holes when hanging the shower mat 10 to dry.As shown in FIG. 4 the hook 30 includes a hook portion 32 connected to abase portion 34 by a hinge 32. However, in other embodiments the hook 30may be connected to the hook base 34 without the hinge 32. The hooks 30are sized and adapted to fit through the holes 26 of the shower mat 10and support the weight of the shower mat 10. The dimension of the holes26 may be approximately between five and 10 mm, this embodiment 8 mm.However, in other embodiments the holes 26 may have larger or smallerdimensions, ss deemed suitable by those in the art.

In this embodiment, hook base 34 of the hook 30 is in the form of asuction cup for securing to a shower wall, but in other embodiments thehook base 34 may be secured to a wall or mounting surface using othermeans, e.g, a strong adhesive, apertures for receiving nails, etc. Inone example, (not shown) the base 34 is in the form of a second hookwhich may be hung from a towel bar or other similar structure.

The hook 30 may be lightweight and constructed of plastic, vinyl orother material known to those skilled in the art. In this embodiment,each hook 30 is 9.7 grams, but on other embodiments' the hooks 30 mayweigh more or less than this.

FIG. 5 is a view of the hook base with the hook in the up position withthe hinge exposed. The hinge has a pin 35 that the hook rotates around,an L shaped space 37 and a suction cup 39.

FIG. 6 is a view of the hook base with the hook in the down positionwith the hinge exposed. The hinge has a pin 35 that the hook rotatesaround, an L shaped space 37 and a suction cup 39.

FIG. 7 is a view of the second hook, which has an overlay section 43 togo over a towel rack or the top of a shower, a base 11 and a bottom hook45 to hold the shower mat.

As used in this application the words “a”. “an” and one are defined toinclude one or more of the referenced items unless specifically statedotherwise. Also the terms “have,” “include,” “contain” and similar itemsare defined to mean “comprising” unless specifically stated otherwise.

I claim:
 1. A method for drying shower mats comprising: b. using ashower mat with antibacterial and mildew resistant properties, meaningto inhibit bacteria or mildew from multiplying, and holes within theshower mat, the holes placed within 10% of the shower mat's length froma top edge of the shower mat, and each hole being equal distance from aside edge of the shower mat; a top surface and a bottom surface sideedges, and a top edge; c. using hooks comprising a base and a hinge,with a pin in the hinge, which allows the hook to rotate 80 plus degreeswith the hooks sized to hold the holes in the shower mat, the hookcreating a two inch or more space from a wall, the hook having a baseand the hinge, the base containing a suction cup; whereby the shower matholes when placed over the hooks allow the mat to hang straight downhook base away from the wall to facilitate drying.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 where the holes are reinforced with extra material (eyelet,grommet).